


Count on Me

by eriah211



Category: Lost Worlds - Andrew Lane
Genre: Future Fic, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Near Future, Pre-Slash, Team Dynamics, Teamwork
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-24
Updated: 2018-01-24
Packaged: 2019-03-09 01:22:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13470729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eriah211/pseuds/eriah211
Summary: The team is in trouble again, but this time it's Rhino the one who needs help.





	Count on Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fredbassett](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fredbassett/gifts).



> Written for fredbassett for DreamWidth's Fandom Stocking 2017. Betaed by the awesome fififolle.

 

The first thing Rhino saw when he opened his eyes was Gecko’s worried face.

If that wasn’t indication enough, the pain on the side of his head confirmed that something had gone wrong. His mind was a bit hazy, but he sort of remembered he had been running away from some armed men.

“Are you Ok? How many fingers do you see?” Gecko asked him, concern written all over his face.

“Three?” Rhino answered, trying to focus on the hand Gecko was holding up in front of his face.

“I hope that wasn't a lucky guess,” the young man replied, frowning. “Can you stand up?”

“I think so,” Rhino said, feeling slightly dizzy when he sat up. “But a bit of help would be great.”

The memories of the last events came back to him as his mind cleared. They had been looking for traces of the so-called Beast of Gévaudan in the forests of Lozère in France when he had noticed some men were following them with guns and probably not very good intentions so Rhino had told Tara and Gecko to go back to their car discreetly and he had kept walking ahead, leaving a fake trail that would lead the men away from them.

When he had tried to make his way back to their car following a different path, it had proven more difficult than he had calculated and the descent of a rocky slope had ended abruptly with him slipping down and hitting his head on the fall.

“Tara has gone to fetch the car, she’ll try to drive as close as she can, but the dirt track doesn’t come this far so we’ll have to walk to get to the car ,and the sooner the better,” Gecko explained to him.

 “Let’s go then,” Rhino agreed, standing up on wobbly legs.

Gecko was immediately by his side, putting his arm around Rhino’s waist to help him stand up. Rhino wrapped his arm around Gecko’s shoulder for support and smiled at him gratefully.

“After all this time, I thought you would remember that I’m the one that pulls off the acrobatic jumps in this team,” Gecko chastised him as they started walking towards the dirt track. “You are the one in charge of getting all of us back home in one piece, remember?”

“Yes, I do remember, kiddo,” Rhino replied. “I was trying to do my job.”

He could see Gecko was worried and angry, but he had simply tried to get those men away from their escape route. He hated being the reason why Gecko was angry, though. The young man had always been the cheerful one, the optimistic one with the bright smile, and more than once lately, Rhino had found himself thinking of that smile when things went awry or when it was a difficult day.

“If you break your thick skull in three pieces you won’t do your job,” Gecko replied, annoyed. “And enough with the ‘kiddo’, man. It’s condescending. I stopped being a kid a long time ago.”

That was true, Rhino had to concede. They all had grown up in the years they had spent together working on Calum’s missions. They acted now like a close-knit team and he knew they cared deeply about each other and the work they were doing.

“You scared the crap out of me, you know?” Gecko added, sounding less angry and more worried now.

“I’m Ok, really. I was just a bit dizzy before,” Rhino tried to reassure him. “I can walk on my own now,” he added, trying to disentangle from Gecko’s hold.

“No need for that,” Gecko replied immediately, his hand on Rhino’s waist holding him tightly. “Just... to be sure.”

Without a single complaint, Rhino leaned on Gecko again, the young man’s body warm and strong against him, and they kept walking.

The sound of a car coming to a halt nearby told them that either Tara had already come back, or that the men who were chasing them had called for back-up and they were in deep trouble. The worried voice of Tara calling for them made them let out a sigh of relief, but they knew they had to hurry since all the noise had surely attracted their pursuers’ attention too.

After a few more metres they found the car and Tara standing beside it, waiting nervously for them. As soon as she spotted them, Tara left the rear door open for them and then jumped back into the driver’s seat to start the engine. Smart, as usual, Rhino thought as he and Gecko rushed to get inside the car.

They had barely closed the door when Tara had the car running as fast as she could on that dirty road.

After some time with no pursuers in sight, Rhino finally relaxed slightly. Maybe those men weren’t working for Nemor Inc. then. He doubted they would have given up so easily on them if they were.

“Are you Ok, Rhino?” Tara asked, concerned, while she kept her eyes on the road.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“Good,” she said. “Now, what were you thinking? Don’t do something like that ever again!”

It looked like he was going to be chastised by all of them now, Rhino thought. He used to be the one berating them for their reckless behaviour, but it seemed like tables had turned.

“Gecko almost had a heart attack when he saw you fall, you know?” she kept going. “He was worried sick!”

Rhino turned to look at Gecko, who smiled at him sheepishly, and wondered if there was the hint of a blush on the young man’s face or if it was just a trick of the light.

“Thank you for having my back,” he whispered to Gecko while Tara kept complaining loudly about his recklessness.

“Always,” Gecko said with a broad smile.

That’s the smile, Rhino thought, the one that could make any bad day better. And he smiled back at Gecko as he finally let himself relax completely.

 

END


End file.
